NATION

Clues in the Ashes (California)

Fighting the flames is tough, but not as difficult as hunting down and arresting the culprits behind the destruction

It's Just That Close (Politics)

No matter how the debate with Perot turns out, the White House still risks losing NAFTA

No Experience Necessary (Elections)

Ornery voters give the boot to incumbent Democrats, but the pattern isn't as simple as it appears

Packwood Vs. Packwood (The Senate)

Now the Senator's colleagues suspect that he tried to use his clout to get a better deal in his divorce case

WORLD

Blue-Helmet Blues (United Nations)

Strapped for cash and short of manpower, U.N. peacekeepers are asked to do too much with too little

To the Spoiler, Victory (Israel)

But the election of a hard-line mayor could turn the Holy City into a flashpoint between Arabs and Jews

Very Bad Blood (Europe)

The discovery of HIV-tainted plasma in Germany raises alarm about the ability to ensure safe supplies worldwide

WAR & TERRORISM

Should Nato Move East? (Defense)

Old enemies from the Warsaw Pact are keen to join the Western alliance, but Moscow frowns on the idea

SCIENCE

Toxins on Tap (Environment)

The water Americans drink may look clear and clean, but it often contains noxious chemicals and malicious microbes

HEALTH & MEDICINE

Fasting for the Right to Die (Medicine)

Dragged, literally, to jail for helping people kill themselves, Jack Kevorkian goes on a hunger strike

SOCIETY

RELIGION

God's Billy Pulpit (Cover Religion)

After a lifetime of reshaping Protestantism, Billy Graham contemplates his final years and a legacy that has no sure successor

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Back From Boot Hill (The Arts & Media Show Business)

After years in eclipse, westerns are in vogue again. But it's the West through a new '90s prism.

Ego Trip to Bountiful (The Arts & Media Theater)

The National Actors Theatre may have started as a personal vehicle for Tony Randall, but it is showing signs of improvement

Gangsta Rapping (The Arts & Media Cinema)

Going straight can be hard for a hood with a sense of honor

His Own Private Agony (The Arts & Media Hollywood)

Who will stand by River Phoenix after the young actor's brutal death? His legion of fans will.

Meat Loaf's Prime Cuts (The Arts & Media Music)

The '70s raver is reunited with composer Jim Steinman for a No. 1 album that celebrates sex, drums and rock 'n' roll

Solve It Again, Sam (The Arts & Media Books)

Four doughty veterans of the fictional crime wars demonstrate why experience counts

The Great Enunciator (The Arts & Media Books)

The first of a two-volume biography maps the divided soul of W.E.B. Du Bois

Urban Blight (The Arts & Media Theater)

The everyday horrors of city life make for eerie drama

TO OUR READERS

ESSAY